Portugal: Tree falls killing 11 at Madeira festival

At least 11 people were crushed to death by a falling tree during a religious festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira on Tuesday.

A large 200-year-old oak tree came crushing down on a crowd outside a small church during the Nossa Senhora do Monte festival, which attracts thousands of visitors from all around the world to the island every year, Independent reported.

35 others were injured when the tree fell outside a church in the hills above Madeira's capital Funchal, Local media reported.

The accident happened during a major Roman Catholic festival marking the Assumption, or entry into heaven, of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Worshippers were preparing for the procession of Our Lady of the Mount, the Atlantic island's biggest yearly religious festival when the tree collapsed.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is on his way to Madeira .